The Moonshine War

Dual Meaders, Doc Taulbee, and their gang of city slickers set out to steal thousands of dollars worth of homemade Kentucky Whiskey from Son Martin, a hell-raising country boy, during the midst of Prohibition.

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Publisher's Summary

It was Prohibition, and a big, hell-raising Son Martin had himself something special: $125,000 worth of Kentucky's finest home-made whiskey, no one was going to steal it. Because when it came to shooting, fighting, and outsmarting the Big Boys, Son Martin wasn't just good. He was bad . . .dangerous. . . and deadly.

The Moonshine War is the story of Son Martin a Prohibition Era bootlegger in rural Kentucky. Son's father hid over $100,000 of top grade moonshine. Now Frank Long, an old army buddy of Martin's is looking for it. Long is now a prohibition agent and wants the whiskey for himself. Long brings in some bootleggers to help him and things get hot.

This book was published in 1969, but like all great books, still holds up to repeated readings. This has Leonard's classic style. Heavy emphasis on dialogue, interesting characters, and sudden explosions of violence.

Mark Hammer gives a wonderful reading of the text. His voice captures the sound of the hills and the rhythm of Leonard's prose.

The story was interesting and the way the characters were written it seemed like the main character stood above everyone watching them as a silent parent watches children blunder as they learn to walk. The antagonists in the story certainly were written with a mean streak to them but at times were fettered by their inability to understand the steely resolve of the main character, Son Martin, and his desire to keep the faith alive, the fires burning and his family history intact. The narrator was good but his pace seemed a bit slow at times adding to the idea that we were actually in Kentucky during prohibition on a lazy summer day. He was able to convey the different characters very nicely by changing his voice patterns, etc. I love Elmore Leanord's ability to tell stories and the manner in which he does.

This was the longest 7hrs and 22 minutes I've ever had to spend listening to a book. I mean Mark Hammer was totally in the moment for 7 hours. The drawl was unending. There was not one character that spoke at a quick pace. It was sleep inducing. .....

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